Networking two Computers (wired) mainly for filesharing

[iPadraic]

Hello..

i have two computer is different corners of my house.. i wanted to network them together mainly for filesharing (i wouldn't mind internet on it though) my question is.. what hardware is REQUIRED.. do i HAVE to have a hub or router? or can i connect by ethernet cables straight into the cards?

the computer that is on the internet has an intergrated ethernet port and a pci card with one ethernet slot.. the computer w/o inter net has one ethernet port... i really want to avoid having to buy anything but the CAT5.

thanks

PS im on cable not dsl

[bailey]

there is one recommend and best way to network the two systems and have the internet on both,
depending on which type of interner service you have (except dial up)
is to use a router connected to the modem with cat-5 cable, then each computer will connect to the eathernet ports on the back of the router, which is a switch, doing this you will have a very good lan, with the best speed possible for both systems to be on the internet at the same time and all the sharing you could want, including the printers.
a good router can be had with out a big cash layout, check wall mart or newegg for a linksys router in the 54g line.

[iPadraic]

well once i posted that i figured i might as well keep trying.. so i went over to a friends house and asked to borrow a router (amazingly) he had one laying around and let me have it... so i went back home and tried and (again, amazingly) was able to get it working.. but there are still a few issues...

on my main computer i can see one of the harddrives i shared.. im able to go in and acess some videos.. but i cant put new videos on there.. also..
on the computer#2 i dont see any of my shared folders from computer#1

[DynamicTech]

What OS are you running?

[iPadraic]

windows xp home

[Panama Red]

Have you run the Networking Wizard on both pc's?